I never thought I'd say this, but I'd like to thank the NRA. That's right, the national gun lobbying group did something I like: They published the names of organizations, companies, and celebrities who have supported increased gun regulation in some way.
Well, they didn't exactly put it that way, of course. Considering the list was re-posted on conservative blog The Daily Caller, this was probably meant to be more of a blacklist. They called it "The Big List of Who Hates Guns." But I think that blacklist is going to backfire. Once again, the NRA is showing how tone-deaf they are to how Americans really feel about gun ownership.
We have mixed feelings about guns. We use them for hunting, we pass them down generations, and we like saying we want to protect our right to own guns. But especially after a year of horrific gun slayings culminating in the most heartbreaking bloodbath we've ever seen, we think some better gun regulation is long overdue.
In the wake of Newtown, 57 percent of Americans said they support stricter gun control. This is up from just 39 percent in April. You could say Newtown was a bit of a wake-up call for a lot of us. Still, only 42 percent said they believe stricter gun control could have prevented the Sandy Hook Elementary shootings.
Of course, it all depends on what kind of gun regulation you're talking about. A whopping 95 percent of people support background checks, 92 percent believe certain people (convicted felons and mentally ill people) shouldn't be allowed to own guns, 78 percent believe gun owners should have to register their guns with the local government, and 62 percent believe there should be a ban on the manufacture, sale, and possession of semi-automatic assault guns and high-capacity ammunition clips.
We're still deeply divided over what's more important -- protecting gun ownership or protecting people from being killed by guns. But there's a lot of common consensus when it comes to how we feel about gun ownership. There's a lot we could work on together.
Weeks ago I was naively hopeful when the NRA announced they would make a "meaningful contribution" to preventing another attack like Newtown. And I was beyond disgusted when I heard what "meaningful contribution" the NRA proposed. As far as I'm concerned, they've lost any remaining credibility.
But I do want to know who is going to be fighting alongside me for saner gun regulation. So thanks for letting me know who my allies are. I'll be doing everything I can to make sure I support them. These are people willing to stick their necks out for a safer world, and I think they deserve some credit. Realistically, though, I think most people will see how long this list is and think "huh, whatever" -- and it won't have much effect on anyone either way.
Do you think people will care much about who and what's on the Big List?
Image via permanently scatterbrained/Flickr
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Comments 16
I don't HATE guns. I HATE what people do with them. The NRA is just a money hungry BUSINESS making money off of the naive, scared Americans who think they need AK 47s to protect themselves.
These weapons are extremely dangerous and they need to be off the street. How could a nation go through a tragedy like the Sandy Hook shooting and not do everything in their power to prevent another??
Since the man in the Sandy Hook tragedy obtained the guns illegally I am going to go with the "strictuer gun laws " you speak of would not have prevented the attack......
Now I know to stay away from Adriana Velez, because she is no "hero."
Ya know, I think more people need to read "Animal Farm". Even though it is a satire of Stalinist Soviet Union, I think the principles apply... Governments like that are the reason we have the 2nd amendment; the 2nd amendent effectively keeps us free.
And "anti-gun" idiots have whatever is coming if they think more laws make them "safer".
It's MAGAZINES, not clips. Clips are for rapidly reloading a revolver. Semi automatic weapons are any weapon you don't need to manually put another round in the chamber. Not just rifles. Any all semi automatic weapons use, now say it with me, magazines.
Sweet Jesus, if your going to write and publish something, do some research.
Autumleaves what are you talking about? What is it exactly that you want to do with gun control to stop another Sandy Hook tragedy? When exactly was an A K 47 used in one of these shootings? Hammer's and car's killed more children then guns did last year so are you ready to talk regulation of car's and hammer's. I mean obviously we should out law hammer's and car's before one more child dies. I don't want anything like this to happen again either but at least look at the source of the problem not the reaction. Please, please do me the courtesy of answering (instead of running away from tough questions like you usually do) because I really want an answer to these questions.
The NRA is not doing themselves any favors in the wake of the Sandy Hook shooting, but I still believe that making guns illegal is not the answer. Many things are illegal in this country and it does not stop the availability of them... drugs are a big one that comes to mind. In my opinion, it is an overly simplistic argument to say Guns can kill, therefore guns=bad, so make them illegal.
Other countries that have similar gun laws do NOT have the amount of mass shootings we have, but no one talks about that. Other countries that do have harsher gun laws do NOT have reduced violence. Why don't you go visit the UK, where "glassing" is a common occurrence... that's right, smashed glass bottle to the face is how they do violence. Their home invasions are literally double what they are here... why would you be afraid to break into someones home if you knew they had no way of defending themselves?
If someone wants to hurt others, they will find a way and the data reflects that. But asking why WE as a country murder each other more with guns than other countries is not such a simple question to answer. So we all revert back to "make it illegal." Because that has worked for so many other things...